Zulu

I have been wanting to see this movie for a while now and finally did. It is about a British 2nd Company in stationed in Africa in the late 1800's(1898?) that is attacked by over 4000 Zulus, some armed with guns. But in the movie they do not use the Maxim machine gun, but in other accounts of this event I have heard of a machine gun being used. Does any one have any specific info on if this weapons was used or not?

BTW, this could be a great topic to talk about also.

 

i don't think the British army was equipped with Maxims until the second Boer wars. So that would not have been the case during the Zulu wars...

 

Actually I saw an episode of history channel regarding the Maxim machine gun. It did mentioned that the British used it against the Zulus and wreaked havocs. I am not sure which battle it was.
Incidentally, the movie "Zulu" was really good, I watch it on TV every year.

 

Was that movie called "Zulu" or "Shaka Zulu"?
Btw, did you know that W. Churchill was a POW in the Boer war?

 

No, I didn't. This strikes me as odd but that has to do with the natural feeling I get that the Boer wars are of a past era. I can't get it into my head that Churchill fought in the Boer wars, was a high-ranking navy officer during the Great War and leader during the Second World War.

 

The movie Zulu and Shakir Zulu were different movies. "Shakir Zulu" I believed depicted the rise to power of the zulu king shakir, while the movie "Zulu" probably occurred near the end of the Zulu empire.

 

I do think you are correct. This battle, in Zulu with all the big stars, had the most Victoria Crosses awarded, at one time, in the medal's history.

 

it was Shaka , is in it?

 

The events depicted in the movie "Zulu" took place in 1879. A British column under the command of LTGEN Frederick Thoessinger, Lord Chelmsford invaded Zululand from the British colony of Natal. This was due to the machinations of Sir Henry Bartle-Frere, the commissioner of Natal, who wanted to provoke a war with the Zulus (despite clear orders from London to avoid doing so) so that their land could be added to the British Empire and he would receive a peerage. He sent the Zulus, under the flimsiest of pretexts, an ultimatum that he knew they could not meet, then sent in Chelmsford's troops in. Unfortunately for Frere, the Zulus were tougher than he'd figured. They wiped out an entire battalion of British infantry, over 800 men, along with about 400 or so native and colonial troops, at Isandhlwana. Chelmsford, who had gone ahead with the remainder of his force and thus escaped the disaster, was forced to retreat to Natal. Rorke's Drift was a mission station in Natal; it was the defense of this place that was shown in "Zulu". One company of British regulars was the garrison, along with some Africans and colonials. Some 4,000 Zulus who had missed the slaughter at Isandhlwana ventured into Natal to destroy the supply base at Rorke's Drift and its garrison. The Africans and colonials ran away at the first sign of the Zulus. The British regulars, commanded by LT John Chard, Royal Engineers and LT Gonville Bromhead, the company commander, built a wall of sacks of corn around the station buildings and fought off numerous Zulu assaults; there was incredible courage and valor shown on both sides. In the end, the Zulus withdrew, allegedly saluting their foes as they left. This account is a bit simplified, but it sums up things to the point of the events of the movie, which is pretty accurate for a movie. There is another movie, "Zulu Dawn", which is a prequel to "Zulu", showing the events leading up to Isandhlwana, as well as the battle itself. Some errors, but the battle scenes are very nicely done. The British did win the war, BTW, but at such cost that Frere was recalled home in disgrace.

 

The Washing of the Spears

The best available single book source on the Zulu wars is, in my opinion, "The Washing of the Spears" by Donald R. Morris.

It even tells you that most people incorrectly refer to the thrusting spear as the "assegai" which was the light throwing spear. Shaka regarded the assegai as a riduculous toy and redesigned it.

The correct name for the thrusting spear designed by Shaka (pronounced 'ooshaga') was "iKlwa". (pp52).

 

Re: The Washing of the Spears

There is also "Like Lions They Fought" (the author's name escapes me right now). Very good account from both sides of the war.

 

The zulu's had some secret weapons: they used a kind of native drug wich is comparible with xtc or speed but it held realism in the zulu's. They also developed a special attack unit, a sort of commando unit. Only the best and ferocious fighters entered this unit and they leaded the attack. Mostly the zulu's are shown as shouting and screaming warriors, this is partially true but in reality they used silent columns who spearheaded the main attack. Like the german sturmtruppen in ww1 they were tasked to break through the enemy lines and to find the enemy commanders and support units.

 

Anton,

Where did you read about that?

:smok:

 

I'd like to know the same thing. No source I have ever read about the Zulu War has said anything about this.

 

I liked the show so much I bought the DVD for $9.00 CAN.

 

I assume you mean the 1968 movie Zulu, "introducing" Michael Caine?!

Great movie, even if they trashed "Hook". He was actually a fine soldier. Never have understood why movie makers always have to change history for what they consider a better story line.

Same thing with "Walking Tall". In actuality, Buford Pusser's daddy was a boot legger and Buford took the sheriff's job to weed out the competition. It would have worked but "they" finally killed old Buford! Also, Buford Pusser ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS, carried a gun which the movie fails to depict.

:smok:

 

Hollywood plays by its own rules. And Buford Pusser was shown carrying and using a gun after the scene where he pulls over a speeding car and the woman driver shoots him.

 

The movie only showed him carrying a gun after his wife was killed, which is incorrect.

:smok:

 

No, the movie showed him carrying a gun after he got shot by the woman he pulled over for speeding.

 

Which one in the series are you refering to? I was talking about the original movie with Joe Don Baker as Pusser. There were, I think, two or three movies in the series.

I don't remember Pusser getting shot after pulling over any woman from speeding but I could have forgotten.

I remember him shooting the motel lady Louise, I think her name was, in the bar in the first movie which never happened. In actuality he had gone to her motel to arrest her. He found her in a nightgown and she asked if she could change clothes first. Pusser said OK and she walked over by her bed, pulled a pistol out from under the mattress, pointed it at Pusser and pulled the trigger. "click, click, click" the pistol misfired and Pusser blew her away.

:smok: